LBB Film Club: The Pitch
Every director in adland is used to briefs, scripts and treatments - coming up with new plans to fit meta themes and appeal to audiences in fresh and exciting ways.
But when everyone is trying to fit in, does a measure of creativity get lost? Through a satirical approach, Eno Freedman explores this question; playing with advertising tropes while at the same time, pausing for a serious moment of reflection on how ideas die and where the dead ideas go.
LBB’s Josh Neufeldt caught up with Eno to find out more about ‘The Pitch’, how to share personal experiences through a humorous lens and what the best type of breadcrumb is.
LBB> What was the initial inspiration for this film? When and why did it first appear in your head?
Eno> While I went to film school and really enjoyed making shorts, I fell into nightlife and event programming after graduating and slowly had less and less time to devote to carving out a film career. It wasn’t until I was in a bad ski accident and in the hospital recovering that I realised I needed to return to my film roots and leave the event industry. I knew I liked commercials and spent each day looking through an entire production company's roster and building spreadsheets of the different ads I liked. I don’t know why I was so obsessive or intrigued by it but after months of doing this I had amassed this huge knowledge of the different directors, companies, trends and looks. It helped me land a short stint as a director’s assistant and sparked my move to LA to help him out there. He threw me in the deep end when asking to make his treatments, which I had no idea what they were. I wrote all the copy after talking about his idea, found the images and designed the layout. It was hard, but I eventually was comfortable enough with it and landed a more long term job as an in-house treatment designer.
It was really at that company that I was put into the treatment factory, switching brands and looks and tones at the drop of a hat. The pace was so quick that my mind frequently had blended concepts and I would start joking to my coworkers about how funny it would be to combine the looks. We built a place on our wall by our desks where we’d make fake treatments with buzz words to lighten up our day. The agency calls always felt so aspirational and try-hard. So many people wanted to follow trends, check boxes off and build ideas from a reference point to be LIKE something else. It made me miss the potency and respect for ideas at their core. I also saw the sadness in people losing pitches every day. So, this film was really inspired by all of it.
LBB> How did personal experience factor into each of the ever crazier scenarios that get pitched?
Eno> My time doing treatments for years has given me a lot of comedy gold from overhearing hundreds of funny agency calls and seeing trends rise and fall. Almost every shot in here is a spoof on shots that I’ve seen in other films or commercials, but we use nuggets! Made from real recycled corn starch of course.
LBB> The two narrative leads play a big part in propelling the story forward, despite never getting screen-time. How did you go about selecting those specific voices for the part?
Eno> So Ben Wood, the Australian actor, I actually saw in a fantastic series called Join Meeting by the legend Benji Weinstein. He played an agency guy and had such a grasp of the terms and to improvise on it. I had researched photos of people painting for a Benji treatment years back and contacted Ben online mentioning we had a loose mutual connection! He read the script, loved it and we set up a couple voice-over calls. Rick, who plays the director, is a comedy director/actor who has a real knowledge of meta concepts and is incredibly deep. I knew he’d be able to dig into the role and improvise well, which he did. The two got along great and we split our sides laughing while doing the voices.
LBB> The main character ends up in a wide range of scenarios because of the pitched ideas. What was the casting process like for her?
Eno> Lourdes Hernandez was a friend I met at a house party when I first moved here and I knew immediately she was right for the part when I finished the script. She had such an elegant approach to comedy and understood the quick wit of it all and the ridiculousness without playing up the comedy so much. I wrote a ton of backstory to each scenario so that she had a thread to her character. While the commercials are changing up, it is a rise and fall of her character that she has to build which comes out at the end. In her own words she told me: “It was really a treat to be able to play all the different moods, it’s a good project for an actor for that reason, being able to show all these ranges and have fun with it!”
LBB> How did you go about ensuring that the parodies of each ad style felt authentic to the style it was imitating?
Eno> I’ve watched so many ads that it was a joy and a quick process for me to spoof them. I had been waiting to make fun of each ad for so long that once I got pen to paper it flowed very seamlessly. Now, I can’t really watch commercials without laughing. The ones that take themselves too seriously, that is.
LBB> Is the name Nondos a parody of Nandos? And if not, how did you come to choose that as the fake brand name?
Eno> Haha! No, it's not a parody of the fast food chain Nandos. I originally had the name Mondo’s but the production designer reminded me that it was from the movie Good Burger, which is a classic piece of cinema. I just switched the M to an N. Also, since the film makes fun of finding deeper meaning I’ll get deep with the name for a second. Nondos separated is Non Dos. A play on not being two things and only being something singular. In many ways this is a piece about not trying to do too much and in the end just focusing on one idea and that idea being king. Yes, we have a full brand backstory for our fake vegan nuggets!
LBB> As funny as it is to see panko-crusted speakers and glasses, what led to the idea to do that? Also, is panko your favourite breadcrumb?
Eno> I remember doing a few treatments where they were for collaborations between brands. Some just seemed so forced that I thought it would be funny to have the unlikely combo of a chicken nugget brand try to get into the bluetooth speaker space. Why not? I had a BLAST with the production team making these inventions and funny props. They were made with a foam gun, sawdust and spray paint.
And yes, a fair question. My mom would always make breaded chicken with these Japanese panko breadcrumbs and herbs. It was so much crispier and crunchier. I think they’re just a more elegant and textural breadcrumb than the original. Also, on camera they look better since they each have their own identity. Basic breadcrumbs are kind of more like sand and boring. Please try making your next schnitzel or chicken with panko and some garlic powder and oregano!
LBB> A big part of the opening sequence is the drone shots above LA. What inspired you to do this and what was the process of shooting like as a whole?
Eno> I think it allows you to slowly get into the world and zoom into the commercial starting. It also shows the grandness of how many other people live out there and perhaps, if we zoomed into another house, another awful commercial was being imagined. There are so many people out there in different homes just waiting for their ideas to be realised.
Jeff Leeds Cohn was a wonderful DP on this and had the chops to do both fashion, artistic film and corporate commercial looks. Beyond that, we built a very hefty reference list for almost every look and shot for what we wanted to spoof satirically but still make sure it was done right. We had a different camera for each sequence for the most part and divided the creative planning out to look at each sequence independently. I think it helped us digest everything by breaking it down.
LBB> We love the final scene - things really take a turn for the character! Please tell us a bit more the thought process behind having her screaming, chasing the camera to round out the film.
Eno> So I really loved the idea that when the job ‘died’ it ran away from the character and she had to try and chase this job (the lens) to be seen. She did all of this work sucking up to the different brand trends throughout the film and then was left with nothing for her reel either. I also wanted that last sequence to poke fun at PSA commercials. I think it also brings us back into the real world, like how we started from the exteriors of houses in LA. It was a very hard shot to block and we had to have people behind the DP guiding him and helping him fall down when she pushed him to the grass. I think on a deeper note I want people to ask, where do dead jobs go? Where is this lens in a car traveling to next? What will its life be like?
LBB> At the end, there’s a short bit about this project being funded from helping other directors pitch their work. Can you expand a bit on this?
Eno> Yes I wanted the entire filming process, even the funding, to be a satire. I work freelancing doing treatments for other directors and helping them with their pitches so I just saved money I made from that and then used it to make the project. A comical circle! All of the companies I love in some way indirectly financed this film.
LBB> What was your favourite part of working on this project?
Eno> I think talking with the production designers and costume designers to make the props and different fake brand items was a blast for me. It helped really sell the world and I felt like we were putting our imagination into something tangible. I also loved doing the voice over calls and improvising certain moments with them. Those two are so creative and split my sides laughing. I also isolated a lot during Covid and being around friends for the first time and enjoying our time together made me smile from ear to ear. We all had such a positive energy on set.
LBB> What were some of the challenges you faced while working on this project and how did you overcome them?
Eno> The budget was so small that it was hard to dial back a lot of the scenes I wanted. But, I think that’s the case for even bigger projects too. We were incredibly resourceful and a lot of people donated their time since they liked the idea. My producers Gon Tarragona and Kate Galliers over at Little Bear Studios made magic happen on no sleep and my best friend Jorge Grau, who did all the photos for the campaign, really wore many hats and helped wherever needed. It was an army of angels to get this project made.
LBB> Obviously the film is humorous but it does have a serious message running through it. What do you hope viewers will take away from it?
Eno> I want people to think about where dead ideas go. To the musicians, businessmen, filmmakers, anyone really… where do your unseen ideas sleep? Do they make it into future work? It’s so heartbreaking to me when there are good ideas and concepts and there’s no stage for them or response. I dedicate this film to all of those who can relate and encourage people to continue making great ideas and trying to get them seen.
LBB> Any parting thoughts?
Eno> Sometimes being yourself isn’t about what you think is you. It’s about making your own reality. Do it. Make your own reality. Be You. Be Human. Also… can we drag a chicken nugget across the grass? That’d be super cinematic.
